One of my favorite pastimes during the holidays is decorating Christmas cookies! This is the best way to use your creativity and involve your whole family. The best part about it is that at the end you get to enjoy an amazingly sweet treat. No matter how ugly they look, they still taste scrumptious!

Spritz cookies are surely a throwback from the past but they make this experience both fun and enjoyable. With spritz cookies, you use a contraption that pushes out the cookies and makes a design. Whether that design is a christmas tree (my personal fav) or a swirly, they all come out beautifully. All you have to do is make the dough, load the presser, push out the cookies, then decorate! You can use any sprinkle, dragee, and edible flake to make these cookies look festive.

The ingredients:

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 large egg

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Sprinkles, for garnish

Instructions:Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and the egg and mix to incorporate; don't worry if the mixture seems to separate.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and add to the creamed butter. Mix until combined. Using a cookie press, press the cookies onto ungreased baking sheets. Top with sprinkles of your choice. Bake until firm but not yet browning, 6 to 8 minutes. After a few minutes, move cookies to a rack and cool.